Courageous
by HarmonyGames
Summary: Hermione has been captured by Lucuis Malfoy who intends to get valuable information from her. A recent change of heart in the youngest Malfoy has him attempting to aid her in eveyway he can without getting the both of them caught and killed. (Not hugely Romance) will have a little bit of Harry/Draco/Hermione
1. The Proposition

Whatever my father is doing to draw those terrible screams from her is beyond me. I don't know what information he's expecting to extract from her. I walk back to my wing in the manor. Hoping to drown out th screams with a hot shower. One thing I am certain of is that there is no way she's going to give up any information. She has too much of a strong will for that. One last ear-piercing scream fills the air and I retreat to the washrooms quickly. There is one thing I know forsure. I am nothing like my father.

After i'm finished in the washroom I walk outside and flop onto the bed, laying there quietly while the girl is screaming. _How long has this been going on for_. I walk to the door and peer out of my room. Slowly I begin to make my way down the large staircase. Just when I think I'm safe I turn the corner and bump into my father.

"shit" I mutter to myself.

"Draco, where do you think you're going?" He says strictly, his icy eyes glaring down at me.

I panic, scrunching my nose as I try to think of a lie quickly... and a good one at that. If my father even suspects me for one second or figures out what I'm actually here to do I don't even what to begin to think about the consequences.

"Kitchen" I say casually trying to look as honest as possible. I try to change the subject. "So" I say trying to take intrest in what he's going to Granger. "How's the girl, she break yet."

He glares down at me once again. _I hate that_ I think. "she's strong, It seems that she doesn't want to give up her friends this easily, but we'll break her soon enough" His evil twisted smile appears on his face, which usually means he's planning something for her and I don't want to stick around to find out what it is.

"You want anything?" I ask His reply is opposite of what I wished it to be. Now on top of sneaking down to the cellars to figure out what happened to Granger I have to bring my father lunch. As soon as I'm sure he's far enough away from me I start to make my way to the cellars. I try to think where they keep her. _Is it five, or nine. _I walk down to five to find it empty. _Nine then I guess...It must be._

I open the door and although I can't see her yet I hear her wimpers becoming louder and louder as I get closer to her. I can hardly see anything down here... I wonder how my father can. Must be accoustomed to it since he spends so much time down here interrogating the captives.

"Granger." I hiss into the darkness. "Granger where are you?" I hear a muffled scream and I'm sure I know exactly where she is now.

"Please" She stammers "Just leave me alone I...I.. I don't know anything" She cries "Please..."  
I take a deep breath replaying a scene over in my head about the last time I did something that my father hadn't approved of and I definantly do not want a repeat of that littel session.

"Don't worry Granger, Lucky for you I'm not here to harm you." I finally manage to say.

I hear her sigh. "Malfoy" Is that you?"

"yeah" I say solemly "Listen Granger, I wish I could do something for you but I can't I'd get us both caught and killed."

She coughs I look around for some water or food that they might've given her but I don;t spot anything. I can tell by her small size they probably haven't given her anything to eat, It looks like she hasn't been eating in weeks, not just five days. "Haven't they given you anything to eat or drink or something" I ask her.

"No" She says "I haven't had anything in over a week"

"I'll bring you something later tonight, it has to be when there nobody around I can't risk them seeing me coming down to see you."

Granger nods "Alright" She says softly her voice barely audible.

I get up and leave Granger on the floor and walk out of the room. I slowly creep up the steps and run into the kitchen.

"Draco" I hear my father yell. "I told you to bring me lunch where is it?"

"Coming!" I yell impatiently in reply. I quickly use some generation magic to quickly conjure up some food.

"Draco, leave the food for now, I want you to come down to the cellars and see the girl with me, come on were going now."

"Now? but you were just there less than an hour ago..." I say.

He looks down at me with evil eyes. "She deserves everything she's going to get." Come his reply, he doesn't even seem slightly guilty for the severe pain he's been causing her.

"You ready to speak to us yet girl?" My fathers voice states. I can only hope that I'm able to drown out what I know is coming next.

I watch as he picks her up forcefully and stares into her sad little eyes. "Tell me where your friends went!" He yells.  
"I...I don't know, just please, please leave me alone, I don't know."

I hear my father groan in frustration. "Insolent girl" he says rolling his eyes as he throws her forcefully on the ground. I hear her cry as her head makes contact with the cold cement floor. I swear I even heard the crack of bone. I cringe at the sound of it.

"Tell me where the order's headquarters is!"

"No!"she replies.

My father continues to stare down at her with his cold eyes. I expect him to show no mercy. He kicks he in the stomach as he groans in frustration. I cringe once more as he delivers another blow and I hear a few ribs snap. Granger must have some pretty good self control if shes enduring my fathers rath. I don't think i'd have near as much bravery as she does, I'd crack in seconds. As my father continues with his questioning I can almost feel the tension and anger buliding up in the room. Granger is laying on the floor crying in pain. My father still poised above her nearly motionless body.

He grabs her one outstreched arm and and pulls her up pinning her against the cold hard stone wall.

"What are you planning against us girl!" He yells only inches away from her face. I don't hear he reply for the longest time and my father repeats the question. I still don't hear her reply and he throws her to the floor. He kicks her head this time before saying one last thing to her. "Be ready to tell me some valuable information next time we come, if you don't you can expect a lot worse than the events that just occured."

As soon as my father leaves me a run back down to the room shes in. I hear her gasping for air and I help her sit up. I want to ask If shes alright but I know inside that shes far from it. I ask anyways.

"Alive" is her only reply I knell down beside her. "You'll be alright, can you stand?"

I see her nod but she doesn't speak "I can try" She agrees to let me help her. I help her to stand up so I can see how well she can walk, Hardly and if she does she winces in pain with evey step. There is no way I can even begin to think of trying to get her out of here, we'd get caught forsure. I think of my options. _Just leave and let the girl die. _No.. I can't that would be cruel thats more like my father and I'm nothing like him, and I don't plan to be. The only other option is escape which will be near impossible. Here in the manor it's get caught and die, no matter how important you are.

"I'll come back down tonight" I say "Think you can manage"

She nods a yes so I know she understands me. With that I slowly and carefully walk up the stairs so as not to get caught. I make my way back up to my wing and wait until night comes. I

It's nearly midnight before I get around to leaving before I walk to the cellars I quietly walk into the kitchen to get her something decent to eat and drink.

"Granger?" I say "Granger?" I repeat myself.

I walk further into the cellar to find her wimpering against the wall. "Granger, what happened?" I ask "was my father down here again?" She nods a yes. I close my eyes tightly wanting to keep them shut. I help her into a semi-sitting position. Handing her the food and water she eats and drinks within minutes.

"I have to go Granger, I'm sorry, I'll try to alert your friends of your location."

"Thank you." comes her soft reply.

As I make my way up to my room I see my father coming out of his.

"Draco... I have a proposition for you..."


	2. The Plan

**NaNoWriMo is this November. I plan to write a story. anyways I hope you like the chapter!**

I sigh, not wanting to hear anything my father has to say. I just want to sleep honestly and with all the events keeping me up these past few nights. I feel like I've just lost my chance at getting a decent amount of sleep, because whatever my father has to say I will most likely keep me up for the remainder of the night.

"What it is" I sigh again.

"I will be leaving it two days, I wish for you to try and get information from the girl, I don't care how, and I expect something when I get back..."

I don't reply for the longest time.

"Draco!' My father snaps at me. "Do you understand?"

"Yes" I reply "how long will you be gone for?" I ask

"one week"

One week echos in the back of my mind, enough time to plan an escape from all this madness. I walk back into my room and sit by the window, staring up into the night sky. _Why is life so difficult_ I think. I push that thought to the back of my mind as I hear a scream. _Bloody hell what is my father doing to her now, its the middle of the night._ I almost feel bad for ignoring it as I cast a silencing spell over my room and peacefully drift off to sleep.

As soon as I wake up I realize I forgot to close the curtains that belonged to the window I had sat by last night. I look out and see and owl fly by. _Shit, I was supposed to tell Grangers friends about her. _I pull out some parchment and a quill and begin to write.

_H. Potter_

_She's alive, don't worry, I won't let her die._

_-D.M_

I call for our family owl and tell him where he needs to go. I close my eyes for only a second before I hear my mother calling out my name. _Breakfast, _Something I now hate, on holidays my mother insists that we eat each meal as a family. Which forces me into an uncomfortable situation, silence or conversation. With my father leaving I hope this is one of the last meals we'll have to _Eat together. _

I start out towards the kitchen and take my place at my usual spot. My mother places a plate of food in front of me and I wonder if Granger's eaten anything since last night, most likely not. _There I go thinking about Granger again, why she's not important, I certainly don't LIKE her..._

"Draco! that is the third time I've called on you answer me!" My mother calls angry.

"Oh" I say nonchalantly "What do you need?"

"Did you sleep well?" She asks.

_Seriously I think, Thats what she wanted to know, out of all the things she could ask she wanted to know if I "Slept Well" Just answer the question, I think to myself._

"Fine" I say " you know what I'm not hungry, I'm going upstairs I have some things to work on."

**Harry**

"Harry you've gotten a letter" I hear Ron call from my doorway"

"From who?" I ask

Ron shrugs "Didn't recognize the owl"

Slowly I open the letter.

_H. Potter_

_She's alive, don't worry, I won't let her die._

_-D.M_

My heart almost stops. Then a wave of relief passes over me_ Shes alive She'll be alright..._

"who's it from" Ron asked

"Draco Malfoy" I tell him

"That bastard, what the hell would he send us a letter for! I swear If he did anything to Hermione I'll kill him" Ron went on.

I clear my throat "I think..." I begin "He's protecting her."

Ron cocks his head and looks confused, Then he scrunches up his face and laughs. "You have to be kidding me Harry, Malfoy? Protecting Hermione? He hates us why would he ever want to do that. He lives in a house full of Death Eaters. He'd get killed before her even lays eyes on her."

Angry, I stare at him. "Don't you understand! He's our only hope of getting Hermione back, Because im sure as Hell that if either one of us try to sneak into the Malfoy's we'd be killed."

I can't Believe Ron, I thought he "loved" Her, He's denying any chance that we have of getting her back. I know the whole Malfoy conspiracy is a long shot. But I think he could be telling the truth. After all I don't think he really wants to be on the dark lord's side. I think he was forced into it.

**Hermione**

It's dark down here. I might as well be blind. As I wake up I rub my eyes and notice a cut on my cheek. I look down at my hand. Minimal blood. I close my eyes and think back to Harry and Ron. _I probably won't ever see them again. Once I give up the information, I'll be killed. _I wonder if they even know I'm alive. They might think I'm dead already. They might have given up on trying to find me, trying to get back to me.

I try to remember all the great times we had. There might never be more. I don't know how much longer I can last. How much longer I can hold on to the slim hope that my friends will come back for me. It's dangerous, it's even dangerous for Malfoy to come see me for five minutes. Let alone my friends to try and come retrive me. Maybe I should consider giving up. It would be much easier that way. _Wouldn't it?_

I hear a pounding upstairs and I hope that nobody is coming down here to "Question me" It's to early for that. I scratch at the cuts on my arms. I stop when I realize that blood is running down them. I want to lay back down and sleep some more. But if anybody comes down here I have to be ready to either resist and wait this out a little longer or to spill everything and let them kill me. If my friends knew, sure they'd be sad, but sometimes I have to take the easy way out.

**Draco**

I sure hope Granger can resist my father for two more days. Then she's free. I'll have to find a place for us to hide out. Because if my father finds out I lost the girl. _No, I don't even want to begin to think about that. _

I don't know what it is about her. Why do I feel so strange? I've never thought about her before. I don't really know whats going to happen. She could die here, along with others. Not many people know how it feels to live in a place where so many people have died. Nobody has heard more screams than I have...

One more scream and I swear I'll be driven into insanity. I'm lost in though and finally snap back to reality when I hear a tapping on the window. An owl is here with a letter for me...

_D. Malfoy_

_Why are you telling us this? What are you planning to do with her. If you hurt Her It wont end well. You better bring her back to us._

_R.W_

I roll my eyes. Damn, What does he mean I _"better bring her back to us." _I can whatever the hell I want. But I guess thats what I've been planning haven't I, to get her _back. _Hopefully things will be back to normal soon. Father will be leaving, Granger going back to her friends. It will soon just be me and mother. I think for a while about my plan. I sigh as I come to the realization that this will need alot more work than finding a way to get the girl back. Now it will also consist of finding a place for me and mother to hide out once the girl is gone.

My father will be angry with us when he finds out that I _lost _the girl or _let her escape _or worse if he finds out that I actually _Helped her._

"Draco" I hear a soft voice call, Mother... "Your father would like a word with you, he is down in the kitchen."

Slowly I make my way to the kitchen. _Why didn't he just tell me whatever he had to say at breakfast? _

"I'm leaving early." He tells me. I have to stay a little over a week, maybe even two, understand. I expect you to report to me, daily letters on your progress with Granger."

"When are you leaving?" I ask.

"This afternoon in about five hours, don't slack off on this Draco, I want information!"

With that he gets up and walks in the direction of his study. I rub my left eye with my left hand then run it through my hair. _I just want to go back to sleep._ I decide I'll write back to Potter and weasley then go back to sleep for a little while. Hopefully my father will be gone by then, and that he doesn't need me for anything else.

_and R. Weasley_

_I told you not to worry about her. Shouldn't that be all your concerned about. We just need a place to bring her. Or meet or something or other. My father is leaving this aftenoon. Just pick a place and make it somewhere safe. I don't want to be getting caught._

_D.M_

I lay on my bed only minutes later and sleep.


	3. The Right Time

**New Chapter! Yes! I hope you like this one. **

* * *

It seems like only minutes later that she is screaming again. My father probably torturing her one last time before he has to leave. I reach up toward my head and rub my temples. massaging in little circles. I desperatly want her to stop screaming, but I know I can't do anything. I would suffer the consequences if I did that. I walk out of my room and downstairs to see my mother sitting at the table. She has her face covered by her hands.

"Mother?" I say quietly

"Yes." she pauses. "Draco"

I sigh. "Draco you can't hurt that girl, understand? She's had enough today."

"How long has this been going on for."

Mother shakes her head. "just over an hour." she replies calmly. Her face still in her hands.

"Is father still down there?" I ask. "He told me he was getting ready to leave."

"No." My mother shakes her head. "Your father left while you were still upstairs, your aunt came though, probably while you were sleeping. My eyes widen. "We have to go down there!" I say practically yelling. "She'll kill Granger"

"You will not interupt your aunt Draco, you know how she gets during interogations."

I sigh and turn away from her. "You don't understand..." I say slowly. "Bella has no self control, we aren't supposed to kill Granger until she gives up the information, and the dark lord still has to see her, If Bella kills her, we'll all be punsihed. Do you want that?" I ask

"I will not get involved Draco, you must understand that."

I hear footsteps and then turn around, my aunt is standing behind me and I had barely noticed that the screaming stopped.

"Ah, Draco." She says smirking. "So, I hear that your father has given you a little project."

I glup. "Yes" I say quietly so she can barely hear me. "Yes, he has, and I intend to go through with his wishes, and I don't need any help." as soon as I say this I almost regret it within seconds. My aunt is now glaring down at me with icy eyes _I still hate that. _I think to myself.

"Your father has asked me to help you. I already know he is expecting daily reports on your progress... yes?"

I breathe in deeply. "Yes" I say. "He has asked for that, and he has also told me that I may extract the information from her in anyway I choose. I am expecting you to respect that." I say slowly.

My aunt raises her eybrows and looks at me with her icy eyes again. "Just what do you expect to do with the girl Draco?"

For a moment I panic hoping she doesn't curse me for what I'm about to say. I know that my father or my aunt or even my mother would not usually approve of what methods I'm going to use to gain the information from her.

"Gain her trust"

There is a long silence before anybody speaks again. "You really expect that to work Draco? The girl needs pain, there is not other way, once she's had enough she will break and tell us where her little friends have gone."

I run my hand through my hair. "No, you're wrong, I've gone to school with Granger for six years, she isn't like that." I regret what I say as soon as its been said.

"Really then... How do you intend to 'Gain her trust' exactly" My aunt questions.

"I will take her away from the cellars, I will help her, and act like I am not supposed to. Hopefully she will let some information slide. Once I get her to converse with me."

My aunt only nods. "I see, Draco you have one week or we will resort back to torture, you understand?"

I nod quickly, _One week _replays in my mind. I have only one week before my father returns, and they resort back to torture. I hope that the girl lets the information go before that. If my father returns and no progress has been made, Granger may even be killed."

I make my way down to the cellars. "Granger?" I whisper slowly. I don't hear anything and I advance further into the room. "Granger" I call again. I only hear soft wimpering in the distance. It seems that she has crawled into the corner of the room. I hear soft crying as I kneel down beside her. I can only see the back of her head because her face is facing the wall. I put my hand on her shoulder and call her once more. "Granger." I say.

"Please... Tel..ell them to...to st..top" she says, her voice shaking.

"can you sit up?" I ask

She moves her hand and pushes herself up, I can see her struggle. Shes weak, I put my hand around her and help her sit up.

"Thank you." She murmers softly.

"I can carry you until we get up the stairs, but then you'll have to walk, I don't want anybody to see us."

"Where are we going?" she calls softly.

"You'll see, just try not to injure yourself any further, I deal with your current ones when we get upstairs."

I slowly pick up her weak form, she is smaller and a lot lighter than I remember, I guess they really haven't given her anything to eat. I move the hair away from her face revealing an ugly cut from her cheekbone down to her chin. It looks untreated and infected.

"Granger, who did that to you." I ask

"Your father, before he left." She mumbles.

"So he was here before, did he do anything else?"

Granger shakes her head. "no" she says softly her voice barely audible. "He said if I didn't give you the information that you'd kill me."

"Me?" I ask shocked.

"I.. I don't really remember, but someone.."

I sigh heavily, and start walking in the direction of the stairs, it seems the ligher the atmosphere around us gets the worse her injuries seem to be. I start to worry for her, I didn't know my father would torture her this badly. I guess he isn't the only one to blame, ninety percent of her pain right now is probably my mad aunts fault. We arrive at the top of the stairs.

"You're going to have to walk now, can you manage?" I question her.

"I think so." she murmers softly, I put her down on her feet and support her as she walks. I takes a while to make our way up to my room with her injuries, before long we come to the grand staircase she lifts her head up and winces. I pick her up and quickly run up the steps hoping nobody will see up, I don't need the whole world of death eaters knowing that I have her up here with me.

It seems like ages before we get to my room and my heart is pounding from fear of being seen when we do. "Granger, you still awake?" I call.

"Mmmhmmm." she mumbles, I walk over to one of the chairs I have in my room and put her down there. I see her finally in full light, her clothes are tattered and covered in blood and dirt, the cut looks ,much worse in the light than it did back in the cellars.

"You should clean up Granger, I'll show you to the bathrooms." I help her up and she insistant that she tires to walk, it takes a lot longer than if she just allowed me to carry her. I run a bath and tell her I will bring her some clean clothes to change into. I find an old pajama top and bottoms then walk back into the washroom.

"This is all I could find in your size Granger, try to get the blood and dirt out of any cuts you may have, I have some potions and other healing supplies, we can get those fixed up later."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She questions.

I sigh, "I'll tell you later, for now get cleaned up, I'll leave, don't lock the door because If something happens I can't have you drown, I promise I will not come in, don't worry about that, and just turn of the taps when you think you have enough water."

I leave the room before she says anything else. I hear the water turn off after a few minutes and sit at my desk working on some homework I had been assigned and planned to ignore for the remainder of the holidays. But with nothing to do I feel bored. It's been snowing like crazy outside, my father is away and my Mad aunt and mother surely won't be any help. The only good thing is that she won't insist that I eat with her as father is not here and I have a plus one to take care of.

* * *

**Hope it way okay! Please leave a reveiw! If you liked it or if it needs improvment!**


End file.
